1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data processing systems for gathering and compiling data for management analysis, and more particularly, to a multi-function customer satisfaction survey device that also functions as a restaurant tip tray and calculator.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 333,743 to Johnson illustrates the design for a combined restaurant check tray and calculator. The Johnson design is essentially a tray configuration with a keypad in the top surface of the tray, and a numerical display in a frame portion at one end of the tray. Johnson, however, does not teach or suggest combining a customer satisfaction survey device with the illustrated design.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,075 to Plainfield et al. discloses a PC-based, interactive, programmable system that induces customers of a restaurant to enter information about themselves or to answer survey questions. The program is run on a PC, and the customer enters the information in data fields displayed on the PC's monitor. Plainfield, however, does not teach or suggest that a computerized survey device could be combined with a restaurant tip tray and calculator.
Restaurant managers have a need to induce customers to answer customer satisfaction surveys so that the managers can identify problem areas and correct them. In addition, the collected information must be compiled quickly and easily into a database that is accessible by the managers. This can be a serious problem when a restaurant chain has many restaurants spread out over a large area. Additionally, customers who are dissatisfied may fill out a paper survey or the survey disclosed in Plainfield, and the restaurant manager may not know of the customer's dissatisfaction until the customer has left the restaurant, perhaps never to return.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to have a survey device that overcomes these disadvantages. The present invention provides such a device.